CHAPTER 19
Alaric rose on his elbow, blinking away the sleep, and stared across the chamber to the hearth where Keeley had placed another log on the fire. She sat back on the bench, her nude body silhouetted by the orange glow, and for a long moment she stared into the flames just as he stared at her.
She was beautiful. Feminine and yet strong. She was soft and silken, but she had an inner thread of strength that astonished him in light of her past.
Not many lasses could have survived on their own after being cast out of their clan. Many would have adopted the very life she’d been accused of. There weren’t many ways for a woman to survive on her own and yet Keeley had done so.
She flipped her hair over her shoulder and turned her head to look in Alaric’s direction. Her eyes widened in surprise for a moment before she broke into a shy smile.
He could barely swallow. She was so incredibly lovely that his teeth ached.
“Come here,” he said as he held a hand out to her.
She rose and awkwardly covered her breasts in an effort to maintain her modesty. She looked adorably shy as she slid onto the bed next to him.
He pulled her into his arms, loving how easily she fit. “How are you feeling?”
She nuzzled against his neck and pressed a kiss to the column of his throat. “Much better now.”
“And you say I have a honeyed tongue.”
She tilted her head and smiled. “Aye, you do. There’s no doubt after earlier.”
“I’m glad I pleased my lady.”
“Aye, you please me, warrior. You please me well.”
He leaned in to kiss her. He meant for it to be a brief embrace, but he couldn’t pull himself away. Their lips made a soft smooching sound in the room. Their tongues met and dueled. This time she was more confident and much more passionate, willing to meet him halfway and demand her due.
“We have a few hours before dawn. Come back to bed with me, Keeley. Let’s not waste the time we have left.”
Her smile lit up the entire room. Then her eyes glinted and her smile turned mischievous. She put her hands to his shoulders and pushed until he reclined on the bed.
“Granted I have no experience with these matters, but it seems to me that ’twould be just as easy for me to do the loving as it is for you.”
He lifted an eyebrow but his eyes gleamed devilishly. “That’s an arrogant statement, lass. Seems to me you have to back up that statement with action.”
Her hair fell in a curtain over her shoulder as she straddled his naked body with her own. His approval of her arrogance was evident in his straining arousal. The idea of her covering him with her softness and of taking the initiative in loving tested the bounds of his discipline and control.
He was a patient man, but at the moment he felt the insane urge to tumble her over and drive between her thighs until it was all either of them knew or could feel.
He glanced up her body as she sat astride him, following the line over her flat belly to her full breasts and then back down to the slim curve of her waist to her fuller hips.
His cock strained upward, thrusting against her soft curls nestled at his base. His breath caught and wheezed out in a strangled gasp when she lowered her hands to grasp his cock.
Her expression was one of wonder as she gently caressed his length. Up and down, she drew the skin tight and then rolled it back down until the blunt crest had widened and blood had rushed to the tip.
It was nearly painful. Each touch drove him more daft by the minute. She was exquisitely gentle, almost as if she feared hurting him.
Finally, he was able to take it no longer, and he curled his hand around hers, tightening her grasp.
“Like this,” he rasped out.
He worked from the bottom up and then down, tightening and loosening until moisture formed at the tip and slipped over their linked hands.
“Ah, lass, you drive me mad.”
“ ’Tis a good thing, I hope.”
“Aye, the best.”
Her hand still wrapped around him, she leaned down, her breasts bobbing like tempting apples in front of him. Then she lifted her hips upward but then seemed at a loss. She had good instincts, but she simply didn’t have experience. He found that it gave him great satisfaction to have to offer instruction. She was his. She’d never been with another man. It was up to him to teach her all she needed and to give her ultimate pleasure.
He grasped her hips and aided her in lifting up. “Like this, lass. Just like this.” He fitted her over his cock and carefully began to pull her down.
They both gasped when he found her heat and sank slowly into her. She paused and chewed nervously at her bottom lip as her body spasmed around him.
He raised one hand to stroke her hair, wanting to soothe her worries. “Easy. Nice and slow,” he murmured.
She trembled as she began a slow descent once more. It was the most excruciating agony of Alaric’s life and he wanted to die from the pleasure of it.
She surrounded him. Bathed him in her fire. Her velvety softness grasped him and sucked him deeper. She stroked his cock with liquid satin. She sheathed him whole.
Gingerly she settled her tiny rounded bottom over his groin as flesh met flesh. He was embedded as deeply in her as he could go, and still it wasn’t enough.
His flesh felt alive. Like a thousand insects crawled just below the surface. He needed to move.
Sweat broke out on his forehead and on his upper lip. His breaths came ragged, harsh in the silence.
Smooth, silken flesh seduced his fingers as he caressed her slim back and stroked over her hips. He wanted to give her as much time as she needed to grow accustomed to being on top.
She gave a tentative rotation, and he groaned aloud.
She stopped instantly, concern flashing in her eyes.
“Nay, don’t stop, lass. God, please, don’t stop. ’Tis wondrous.”
Placing her hands on his chest, she levered up, his cock gliding through her damp heat. Then she sheathed him again, pushing downward until her bottom met his groin once more. Then she rotated in a tight circle, watching his face all the while.
“You are a temptress,” he said raggedly.
“Angel no more. Am I back to being a demon from hell?”
“Wicked angel. The very best kind.” He rose up and circled her in his arms, the action pushing her further onto his cock. “My angel.”
She cradled him against her and then tilted their heads and took him in a savage kiss. She took his breath away. Possessive. Like he belonged only to her. And in this moment he did. No other woman existed for him. He doubted one ever would.
He reached down to curl his fingers around her hips. He needed her. Needed to push deep. To demonstrate his possession again. He lifted and then drove deep, arching his hips. They both cried out.
Her hands flew frantically over his shoulders, seeking purchase. With a growl, his lips found her neck, nipping and biting at the delectable flesh.
She arched her back, plumping her breasts against his chest. The chords in her neck strained and bulged as he lifted and thrust over and over.
“ ’Twas I who was supposed to love you,” she said breathlessly.
“Oh aye, you were and you did. If you love me any harder, I’ll die from the effort.”
“Please,” she begged. “ ’Tis burning, Alaric. I can’t … I must …”
“Do what you must,” he urged.
She gripped his shoulders and began lifting herself out of his hands, pushing downward, harder and faster until she rode him as surely as he would his steed.
Unable to keep the position any longer, he lay back, hitting the mattress as she came down over him. He helped her, but she was a wild thing in his arms, her hips undulating as she took him over and over.